8 Ups And 5 Downs From WWE Raw (Feb 10)

4. Wait, Rusev’s Still Alive?

Rusev WWE
WWE.com

This is not a knock on WWE actually announcing a match ahead of a PPV, but when it causes you to stop and question things, it’s not a good thing.

During Raw, a graphic announced a Tuwaiq Trophy Gauntlet Match, pitting six wrestlers against each other for a new trophy. Among the six was Rusev, who has not been seen on WWE TV in three weeks. (Word going around is that Rusev is in contract negotiations/dispute with WWE, hence his absence.)

From a storyline perspective, this is just damn odd. Rusev hasn’t bothered to show up to continue the feud that was a centerpiece of Raw for months on end, but he’s randomly announced for a PPV match in two-plus weeks (which also involves Bobby Lashley).

Why? Just why? They could have handled this better. If they were planning on bringing Rusev back for Super Showdown, why take him completely off Raw without the storyline getting an ending?

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Contributor
Contributor

Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.